B2B and industrial marketers are usually tasked with two main responsibilities:

Fill the top of the sales funnel (ToFU) with high quality leads

Maximize the middle of the funnel (MoFU) for converting more leads into sales opportunities

Achieving those two objectives are difficult enough, now add to that the constant pressure of having to lower the cost per lead at the same time. That’s why more B2B and industrial marketers are turning to content marketing to lift their lead generation ROI.

Several studies have shown that these lead generation challenges hold true across the board in B2B marketing. According to the recent MarketingSherpa’s B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey (June 2011) of more than 1,700 B2B marketers:

52% of the companies reported, “Converting qualified leads into paying customers” (MoFU) as their biggest challenge. This was followed by Lead Generation (ToFU) at 48% and Lead Nurturing (MoFU) at 40% (See chart).

A similar trend is seen in the industrial sector. According to GlobalSpec’s survey of 384 manufacturers and industrial companies of different sizes, 40% of the respondents stated that Customer Acquisition was their primary goal and Lead Generation was second at 31%. (See chart)

Lead generation has always been a top priority in industrial and manufacturing marketing. However, now there is a marked shift in focus from ToFU to MoFU.

“Online content is the fuel for the new B2B marketing lead generation engine,” said Fisher. “In creating informational, educational and actionable content in the form of white papers and webinars, marketers can effectively lure early-stage buyers into their sales pipeline.

“By mixing this content with comparative, company-specific and interactive content—and regularly sharing it via email or e-newsletters—marketers can build relationships designed to nurture prospects throughout the sales funnel,” she continued.

All this sounds great for content marketers but if you are a manufacturer or a distributor, you don’t want to be a content publisher, you want to sell more of your industrial products. Content marketing must attract the right people, persuade them to take action and drive your industrial sales. It is only then that content marketing brings measurable benefits to your bottom line. For more on this, see my post “Content Marketing: Think Like a Publisher, Act Like an Investor.”

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Achinta Mitra calls himself a “marketing engineer” because he combines his engineering education and an MBA with 30+ years of practical industrial marketing experience. You want an expert with an insider’s knowledge and an outsider’s objectivity who can point you in the right direction immediately. That's Achinta. He is the Founder of Tiecas, Inc., an industrial marketing consultancy in Houston, Texas. Read Achinta's story here or follow him on Twitter @Achintamitra.

I always laugh at “Brand Recognition” as a purpose of marketing. Lead generation accounts for the whole brand recognition stat, it’s just that marketers who don’t generate any leads get to say about their efforts “but at least they know who we are”.

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About Tiecas

Founded in 1987, Tiecas, Inc. is an industrial marketing and consulting company based in Houston, TX. We help manufacturers, distributors and engineering companies grow their sales with effective industrial marketing.Read about Tiecas »